Tory minister Bernier caught driving while suspended

Small Business minister 'completely unaware' licence revoked for unpaid fine until stopped by police

Minister of State for Small Business and Tourism Maxime Bernier, left, stands with Prime Minister Stephen Harper's executive assistant Jeremy Hunt during a Conservative caucus meeting last month. Bernier was caught driving with a suspended licence a week ago after failing to pay a traffic fine. (Chris Wattie/Reuters)

Federal cabinet minister Maxime Bernier was "completely unaware" his driver's licence had been suspended until he was stopped for a driving infraction on June 16, his office says.

The minister of state for small business and tourism was driving his girlfriend's car in his riding in the Beauce region of Quebec that Sunday when he was pulled over by police.

That's when the officer — and, apparently, the minister himself — discovered that his licence had been suspended for having an unpaid traffic fine in arrears.

"Once this was brought to his attention, he immediately paid the ticket. His driver’s licence has since been reinstated," the minister's spokesman Scott French told CBC News on Friday.

French said the minister paid the outstanding fine the following day and got his licence back soon after.

The story first surfaced in a French-language newspaper report last Friday. The minister's office said the information was "likely a leak" and that driving infractions like these would normally be private for other individuals.

Another offence

The minister's office declined to say exactly what kind of traffic ticket he had not paid, saying it was "not pertinent to specify" details beyond describing it as one offence under Quebec's Highway Safety Code.

Police had pulled Bernier over to issue another ticket for another driving offence, which the minister's office also declined to identify.